A recent study has proven that the consumption of thirty-three foods are able to relieve rheumatoid arthritis. The best part? Some of them are actually delicious!

A new review

The autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis impacts around 1.3 million adults in the United States, so research is always being directed into ways to alleviate the condition.

There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, but there is treatment. Most commonly, people will begin to take disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. If the patient is not responsive, or does not react positively, to these drugs, they will often be given biological response modifiers, which alter how the body responds to cells it cannot recognize; however, some scientists believe that there may be a different approach entirely that may prove to be the best.

Supplementing medical treatment

Not only are biological modifiers extremely expensive for patients, but the side effects associated with them can be very dangerous. The alternative? Changing what you put into your body.

While it may seem oversimplified to simply change your diet in response to a very serious disease, research has proven that certain foods do have the capability to fight against the progression of RA, as well as alleviate the symptoms.

Researchers Bhawna Gupta, Shweta Khanna, and Kumar Sagar Jaiswal of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar, India, all came together to form this new review that delves into potential dietary alternatives to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or biological response modifiers.

Dr. Gupta explains why this approach could be a better way to look at treatment, and why it is more accessible for many across the globe, "supporting disease management through food and diet does not pose any harmful side effects and is relatively cheap and easy."

At KIIT's Disease Biology Lab in the School of Biotechnology, the team was able to review "research from several laboratory experiments under different conditions."

Surprisingly, very few reviews such as the KIIT team's exist, and is only the second study to create an overall dietary assessment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Results

At the conclusion of their review, they had found exactly 33 foods that were proven able to alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as slow the progression of the disease itself. Only foods that had viable evidence for these long-lasting benefits were selected.

Dr. Gupta explains part of how they were selected, "our review focused on specific dietary components and phytochemicals from food that have a proven beneficial effect on rheumatoid arthritis."

So, what are the foods you should eat if you are looking for a more natural way to fight against rheumatoid arthritis and avoid side effects? They are divided into eight groups: fruits, cereals, legumes, whole grains, spices, herbs, oils, and "miscellaneous."

Read on to learn more about these food categories and how you can incorporate them into your diet.

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